Ministering to Children at URBC
November 10, 2021
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,
I am super excited about what I will report to you this month. That is because it is all about the ministry at the Chapel and because unlike most of my monthly newsletters it will be entirely positive in nature.
Last month I reported that after a hiatus from worshiping at the Upper Room Baptist Chapel because of Covid restrictions, and because of a short visit I made to the US, we would resume our worshiping and serving at the Chapel. Rebooting, or re-kickstarting might be a better word to describe it though, considering the drop-off we had with the hiatus. But, reboot we have. And things are going well. We obviously still have many challenges facing us as I mentioned in last month’s newsletter. Those challenges will probably never go away. For example, I am still throwing around the idea of implementing an “offering” box so that people can make offerings if the Spirit so leads them. These offerings would entirely be used for charity and goodwill for the impoverished and needy in our community. Offerings are something the people at the Chapel have suggested they need to be doing, but offerings in this culture are so fraught with problems and difficulties that I am really, really torn over implementing it at all. But this is not a newsletter about problems.
One of the things we have implemented with the rebooting of the Chapel is the beginning of a children’s worship / Bible hour. I use the term “we” loosely because although it has been something I have been thinking about and planning for, it has really been started, implemented, and gotten working almost entirely through Julie’s efforts. This was obviously something I could not accomplish on my own as the class meets at the same time as my preaching/teaching time with the adults. So, seeing the great need for a children’s worship hour and seeing the benefits of such a ministry, Julie has made the herculean efforts to get it going. She found a great curriculum that focuses on the truth of the Bible and how that truth points us to God and His Son, to loving God and His Son, and following that truth. After we sing together as a congregation, Julie takes the children to our spare room at the Chapel and teaches them the Bible, teaches them Bible songs, reinforces the lessons with activities, and basically tries to bring these beloved Kenyan children to the feet of our beloved Jesus. And it is working. The children are responding well, and from what I can see love their time in the children’s worship / Bible hour.
You already know the benefits of this ministry, but I would still like to point out just two:
1. Our beloved Kenyan children need to know Jesus, to love Jesus, and to follow Jesus as their Savior and King. This teaching is hard for them to get during the regular worship time / preaching time. Their own worship / Bible time is much more suited to helping them know how the Bible points them to Jesus.
2. Having this children’s ministry will tremendously help the overall ministry of the Chapel. It gives the possibility to families with small children to attend and will help everybody to be active listeners and to actively participate in our worship services. I say this because the culture here is such that children can wander freely and unsupervised during the services (I still remember so vividly one of the first church services I ever attended in Kenya when one little guy was wandering around unattended, walked in circles around the pastor while he was preaching and finally ended up in a corner at the front of the church auditorium where he dropped his trousers and relieved himself on the floor. Nobody did a thing or moved a muscle the whole time to stop him or to clean up after him.)
Want to know how you can pray for this new part of our ministry? You can pray for the beloved children who have been attending: Faith, Esther, Isaiah, Chloe, Una and Emma.
Blessings to you all,
Roger, Julie, and Chloe
CONTACT INFO
Roger & Julie Tate
P.O. Box 96
Kitale, Kenya 30200
rojuta@gmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
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Missionary Update: The Radfords in Kenya [March 2015]
Nathan and Carrie Radford serve the Lord in Kitale, Kenya. Their main ministries include indigenous church planting, a prison ministry, and a hospital ministry for mothers with premature babies.
March 3, 2015
Dear praying friends,
We are now into the month of March, which is hard to believe. Here in Kenya, it is regularly around 70-90 degrees at this time of year. I know this is hard to believe, as there is so much snow right now all over the United States. These are times of the year that we miss, as when we are on furlough, we take our daughters outside to build snowmen, play in the snow, and have a good time. Soon, it will be rainy season here, where the rains come down regularly and heavily at times. I remember a few years ago when it rained so hard that even taxis and minivans were getting stuck in the mud on the road where we live. We hope each of you are enjoying this year of 2015.
As I mentioned before, my partner Roger Tate and I are starting a new group in an area of Kitale called Robinson. Robinson is a big area, and there are many to be reached. We have had many children coming to the meetings, as well as adults. One of the challenges we have had is how to minister to the children also, as we want them to receive Biblical teaching also. We have been using a book in Swahili to teach the kids the Bible, as we just finished on Noah and the flood. It has been encouraging to watch the children respond to the questions and see how they are learning the Word of God.
We praise the Lord for the faithful adults that have been coming also, and ask you to pray for them. At this point it is a Bible study group, where we are doing our best to teach them each week in Swahili many teachings from the Bible. We pray that if it would be the Lord’s will, that this group would be organized into a church at a later point. Swahili three times a week in the various ministries is exhausting and time consuming, so I would ask you to pray for me also as I prepare to attempt to teach weekly in the language.
The annex prison ministry is continuing along well. We just finished in the teachings of Noah and the ark. I did my best to teach the men that the vast majority in the days of Noah did not care about living for the Lord, pleasing Him, and how they ignored the warnings of God, which ultimately resulted in their death and punishment. Matthew 24:38 says “For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark.” They were doing their own thing, ignoring God’s warnings. The thing I like about the Firm Foundations course are the visuals that come with many of the lessons. It is exciting to watch the men as they look at the Biblical photos during the lessons, and apply the truths to their lives.
Our children are continuing along well. McKenna is such a good student in school and learning many things. Camille will be starting school soon, so please pray for her as well. Please also pray for me as a father, as I try to teach them about the many truths of the Bible in an understandable way. I am responsible before God for the Biblical training of my family, so please pray for me as I desire to lead my family to follow the Lord and teach them from the Word of God.
In closing, please pray for safety while traveling. The traffic in Kitale has gotten significantly worse over the years. There are so many motorcycles everywhere, minivans that are impatient and overtaking when they should not be, people not paying attention as they walk through the roads, etc. It is a major challenge to drive here, but we thank the Lord for His protection as we travel. The roads are congested, but we thank the Lord each day for His watch care over us. This is simply to request your prayers for us as we travel here, knowing the Lord will help us. He has been so faithful.
God’s blessings to you and have a wonderful month ahead.
Serving in Kitale,
Nathan and Carrie Radford
P.O. Box 4150
Kitale, Kenya
East Africa, 30200
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